General information about Myanmar

Myanmar (Burma) in Brief

Geography: Myanmar area covers 675,000 square

km
Capital: Nay Pyi Taw (Naypyidaw) – new Capital
Border: Share border with China (2186 km), Laos (236 km), Thailand (1080 km)
Bangladesh (193 km) and India (1463 km).
Coastline: 1930 km surrounded by the Andaman Sea to the Bay of Bengal.
Currency: Kyat. 1 USD = 1,020 kyat
Climate: Three seasons, summer, winter and monsoon climates.
Different climate conditions topographical situation, the attitude influences the time.

 The summer season begins mid-February to mid-May.

 Monsoon season starts in the mid-May to mid-October
 Winter season starts in mid-October to mid-FEB.

Each season has its own attraction. During the rainy season, the rains mainly in its
Coastal areas and the Delta region, there are many clear and nice days and landscapes
are lush green. During this period, central and northern Myanmar including Mandalay,
Bagan and Inle Lake are relatively free of rain.

Mountains and Rivers

The highest mountain in Myanmar is Lisu also know as as Hkakabo Razi which is 5881
meter high above sea level, the second highest would be Gam long Razi which is 5835
m. The longest and most important rivers are the Irrawaddy with its tributaries: the
Chindwin, Sittaung and Thanlwin.

People and Languages

Population: Up to now the population of Myanmar is more than 53 million (annual rate of
1.61% growth). The major ethnic groups are Bamar, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Chin, Mon,
Rakhine and Shan. In the whole countries there are about more than 100 ethnic groups.
Languages:
The main and official language is Myanmar. Most of other ethnic group have own
languages and dialects. As a colony of Britain in the past, English is widely spoken and
understood.

Literacy: the literacy in Myanmar now is 83.1% (88.7% Male 77.7% Female)

Religions: Buddhist Theravadas 89%, Christian 4%, 4% Muslim, 1% Hindu, animist 1%

(CNN)Here's a look at Myanmar, a country in southeast Asia formerly known as Burma.

About Myanmar:
(from the CIA World Factbook)
Area: 676,578 sq km (slightly smaller than Texas)

Population: 55,123,814 (July 2017 est., taking into account excess mortality from AIDS)

Median age: 28.2 years

Capital: Naypyidaw

Ethnic Groups: Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%,
other 5%

Religion: Buddhist 87.9%, Christian 6.2%, Muslim 4.3%, Animist 0.8%, Hindu 0.5%, Other 0.2%,
None 0.1%

GDP (purchasing power parity): $332.3 billion (2017 est.)

GDP per capita: $6,300 (2017 est.)

Unemployment: 4% (2017 est.)

Other Facts:
Prono: MEE'-an-mar

Myanmar shares borders with China, India, Laos, Bangladesh and Thailand.

The United States officially still calls the country Burma.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that there were more than 849,000
stateless and internally displaced people in Myanmar in 2017, down from 1.3 million in 2016.

The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim minority in Myanmar's Rakhine State thought to number about
one million people at the beginning of 2017. Myanmar does not recognize them as citizens or one of
the 135 recognized ethnic groups living in the country. According to Human Rights Watch, laws
discriminate against the Rohingya, infringing on their freedom of movement, education and
employment.

According to the UN's International Organization for Migration, 706,000 Rohingya refugees have fled
Myanmar for Bangladesh since August 25, 2017, bringing the total Rohingya refugee population in
Bangladesh to 919,000 (As of July 2018).

Timeline:
1824-1886 - Burma becomes part of British India after fighting three wars with Great Britain over 62
years.
NTERESTING FACTS ABO UT MYANMAR

1. Fishermen on Inle Lake in Myanmar are famous for fishing on one leg. The local Intha people
developed the unusual technique over centuries to enable fishing and rowing at the same time.
Standing allows the fishermen to see through the reeds that lie just beneath the surface in the shallow
waters of the lake.
(Source: CNN)

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A fisherman demonstrates the balancing act of fishing on one leg on Inle Lake

2. Myanmar was known as Burma until 1989 when the military junta renamed the country Myanmar.
The capital, Rangoon, became Yangon. Several days of demonstrations followed but the name has
stuck.
(Source: BBC)
3. In 2006, the capital city was moved, rebuilt and named Naypyidaw. The purpose-built city has a 20-
lane highway, golf courses, fast wifi and reliable electricity. The only thing it doesn’t appear to have is
people: the population is just 924,608 compared with Yangon’s 7,360,703!
(Source: The Guardian)
4. The previous capital city, Yangon (formerly Rangoon), is home to the gilded Shwedagon Paya. It is
believed to enshrine eight hairs of Gautama Buddha and is one of Buddhism’s most sacred sites.
(Source: Smithsonian)

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Shwedagon Paya is one of Buddhism’s most sacred sites

5. Myanmar was considered a pariah state while under the rule of an oppressive military junta from
1962 to 2011.
(Source: BBC)
6. Aung San Suu Kyi, the politically charged daughter of national hero Aung San, spent a total of 15
years under house arrest between 1989 and 2011. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her
“non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights”.
(Source: BBC)
7. During this time, Suu Kyi and her party (the National League for Democracy or NLD) called for a
tourism boycott, reasoning that the bulk of tourist dollars went straight to the generals. Her entreaty
lasted until her release in late 2010. Shortly thereafter, the NLD issued a statement lifting the boycott.
(Source: Independent)
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Tourists are now welcome in Myanmar

8. Finally, in November 2015, the NLD opposition party led by Aung San Suu Kyi won enough seats in
parliamentary elections to form a government.
(Source: BBC)
9. Currently, Suu Kyi and the NLD face international criticism for their handling of a crisis in the
Muslim-majority Rakhine region. The country has been accused of ethnic cleansing and crimes
against humanity, and there have been callsfor Suu Kyi’s Nobel Peace Prize to be revoked.
(Source: The Guardian)
10. A Buddhist monastery called Taung Kalat sits atop a volcanic plug rising 170m (558ft) above the
slope of Mount Popa, the 1,518m (4,980ft) volcano on which it stands. Volcanic plugs like Taung
Kalat are formed when magma hardens within a vent of an active volcano. Today, Mount Popa and
Taung Kalat are regarded as sacred sites home to 37 venerated ‘nats’ (spirits).
(Source: National Geographic)

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Taung Kalat as seen from Mount Popa Resort

11. Women (and to a lesser extent, men) wear a yellowish paste made from ground tree bark that
they apply to their cheeks, nose and neck. Known as thanaka, the paste cools skin, prevents sun
damage, clears up acne and can even reduce fevers and headaches when ingested.
(Source: New York Times)
12. In Myanmar, both men and women wear sarongs known as longyi. The patterns are distinctly
different for men and women. Women’s designs are referred to as acheik and are tied differently.
(Source: Time)
13. Women of the Kayan Lahwi tribe in the Shan state are known for wearing neck rings: brass coils
placed around the neck, appearing to lengthen it. The coils actually depress their collarbones rather
than elongating their necks.
(Source: Independent)

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The ‘long-neck’ Kayan women of Inle Lake

14. Burma was part of the British Empire from the mid-19th century. It was also occupied by Japan
during the Second World War before gaining independence in 1948.
(Source: BBC)
15. The writer George Orwell lived in Burma from 1922 to 1927. He served in the Indian Imperial
Police. Orwell felt increasingly ashamed of his role as a colonial police officer and would later recount
his experiences and reactions to imperial rule in his novel Burmese Days and in two autobiographical
shorts, Shooting an Elephant and A Hanging.
(Source: Britannica)
16. The Shwe U Min Natural Cave Pagoda of Pindaya is a natural cave complex filled with over 8,000
statues or ‘images’ of the Buddha. The most recent count stands at 8,094. The number continues to
rise as Buddhist organisations from around the world still donate to the already bursting collection.
(Source: Lonely Planet)
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The cave complex near Pindaya is filled with over 8,000 statues of the Buddha

17. For decades, most cars in Myanmar have been imported from Japan where vehicles are right-hand
drive. However, traffic in Myanmar also drives on the right-hand side, so vehicles should really be left-
hand drive. Finally, in January 2017, right-hand drive imports were banned.
(Source: Financial Times)
18. Myanmar is home to Bagan, the world’s largest and densest concentration of Buddhist temples,
pagodas, stupas and ruins. Founded in the second century AD, the kingdom once had over 10,000
Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries.
(Source: Visit Bagan)
19. As it’s located in an active earthquake zone, Bagan has suffered many earthquakes over the
ages, the most recent of which in 2016 destroyed over 400 buildings and damaged hundreds more.
Today, the remains of ‘only’ 2,000 temples and pagodas can still be seen, many of which are
undergoing repairs and restoration.
(Source: The Guardian)

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Today, the remains of ‘only’ 2,000 temples and pagodas can still be seen

20. Myanmar is one of only three countries not to adopt the metric system of measurement. Liberia
and the US are the other two that have not adopted the International System of Units (SI, or metric
system) as their official system of weights and measures.
(Source: CIA World Factbook)
21. The Burmese chew a lot of betel quids, considered an equivalent to tea, coffee or tobacco. Betel
stains the teeth and gums and causes oral cancer. Needless to say, it is a growing health concern in
the region.
(Source: CNN)
22. The Intha people on Inle Lake grow vegetables on floating islands, which are a collection of
floating weeds and water hyacinth. These floating garden islands can be cut, rearranged and moved
by boats and even sold like a piece of land.
(Source: Lonely Planet)